(Michalovce, Slovakia) The Redemptorists of the Vice-Province of Michalovce celebrated on 24 and 25 of August, the feast of the martyr Methodius Dominik Trčka CSsR, who is buried in our Redemptorist church in Michalovce. In 1904, on August 25, Fr. Methodius made his first vows in the Congregation and so he consecrated his life to God. For this reason, the date of his liturgical feast was chosen on August 25. This year we remembered 60 years since his martyrdom in the communist prison in Leopoldov, where Blessed Methodius died.
He was already in prison for a few years because he was a religious and served in the Greek Catholic church, which was totally suppressed by the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. In the year 1958, during Christmas, he sang a Christmas song, for this reason, he was more severely punished and subjected to correction, where he fell ill and eventually died. This year we also remembered 100 years, when Blessed Methodius began celebrating in the Eastern rite and serving the people of the Greek Catholic Church, first in Ukraine for two years and after 38 years in Czechoslovakia.
The pilgrimage from Nižny Hrabovec to the Basilica of Michalovce began on Saturday 24 August 2019. About 100 people took part, following the catechesis prepared by Fr. Atanasio CSsR. The theme was forgiveness because blessed Methodius gave us a fine example, when at the end of his life, he said, that he was not angry with anyone and that he forgave everyone.
In the basilica at Michalovce the prayers began with the holy rosary, then the solemn vespers, the cult of the blessed Methodius included the petitions that people wrote at the end of the Divine Liturgy. The Redemptorist bishop Vladyka Milan Chautur celebrated the Holy Eucharist, together with the faithful, we went on a special procession with the relics around the basilica.
The Redemptorist bishop Vladyka Petro Loza, from Ukraine, presided over the main liturgy on Sunday 25th. The bishop preached saying that blessed Methodius shows us the example of remaining ourselves, as believers and faithful, even in difficult situations. In the afternoon, there was an informal meeting with the families in the garden of our monastery. During the feast, lay missionaries José and Teresa from Portugal also visited with us, visiting our Vice-province.
We thank God for the gift of blessed Methodius, who guides us in the path to holiness.
Fr. Metodio Marcel Lukačik CSsR
